This Easter will always be remembered by me as the year Church Requel really came together as a body of Christ. Yes, I'll remember the fact that we gave away 100 Easter meals of turkeys, potatatoes, dressing, vegetables and desserts. More than that though, I'll recall the comraderie and sheer joy we experienced as a group of Christ-followers.
We gathered on the church steps yesterday morning. We listened to Sheri give us instructions of where to go and what to do. We shared a brief devotional. We circled up and prayed together. Then we went our separate ways. Some went to Harmony House, completely full with the homeless. Some of us went to the Domestic Violence Shelter. Some went to visit Hospice patients. Some went door to door in downtown Mansfield.
I was part of that last group, knocking on doors. We met one woman on the street who was out looking for help. We walked a few extra blocks to her basement apartment to deliver groceries. Another woman was on the phone with her sister when she answered the door - probably wanting to make sure that if anyone broke in someone else would know about it. When we told her we were delivering Easter meals, she started dancing in her house shouting into her phone: "They brought me a whole turkey!" Another family told our group: "We were laid off and we have NO food in the house."
Today we celebrate the resurrected Jesus. We rejoice in our personal relationship with Christ. This morning, however, I celebrate the Christ who is alive in the hearts of my friends at Church Requel. Because of the risen Jesus we had a chance to bring a little bit of Heaven down here to Earth. We experienced the joy of watching the Father's will be done. I can affirm this morning that there is just nothing better than that!